Combination-lock



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-,Sheet 1.

H. O. GRIFFIN.

COMBINATION LOOK.

Patented June '1, 1886.

(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. 0. GRIFFIN,

COMBINATION. LOOK. No. 342,958. Patented June 1, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

HEBER O. GRIFFIN, OF FRANKLIN, NEV HAMPSHIRE.

COMBINATION-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 342,958, dated June 1,1886.

Application filed February ll, 1886. Serial No. 191,552. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HEBER G. GRIFEIN, of Franklin, county of Merrimac,and State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement inCombination-Locks, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on thedrawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the con struction of acombination-loek,,whereby the tumblers, of peculiar construction, aremounted upon a fixed shaft or stud and are arranged to moveindependently of each other, but interlocking with each other toregister in a certain position to release thelocking mechanism of thebolt-work after being rotated a predetermined distance in oppositedirections, the means employed to rotate the said tumblers being suchthat the same may be operated without the aid of the sense of sight.

In accordance with this inventiona deadtumbler and toothed gear aremounted upon a fixed shaft or stud, and a pinion rotated by a crank fromthe outside of the door is supplied to rotate the toothed gear. Thedeadtumbler is provided upon its face with a series of combination-holesand a disk having a projection upon its peripheryis slipped upon theshaft, contiguous to the dead-tumbler, said disk having a fixed pincoinciding with its peripheral projection, which may enter one oranother of the combination-holes, as desired. The dead-tumbler isnotched at its periphery and is provided with a fixed pin adjacent tosaid notch. A series of live -tuniblers and disks of similar dimensionsand construction to the dead-tumbler and its contiguous disk are looselymounted upon a sleeve splined to the fixed shaft or stud, and arrangedalternately with relation to each other. The combination-holes in eachtumbler are numbered in reverse order to the preceding tumbler, and thefixed pin of each disk enters the combination-holes upon the oppositeside of the fixed pins of the preceding tumblers, so that the fixed pinof each next succeeding tumbler is permitted to play between theperipheral projection of the preceding disk and thefixed pin of thepreceding tumbler as the tumblers are rotated in opposite directions;but by turning the dead-tumbler first in one and then in the oppositedirection a predetermined distance,

the several fixed pins will engage and move the tumblers so that thenotched portions thereof will he brought into registering position oneat a time until the entire series register. The mechanism controllingthe movement of the bolt-work drops by gravity into the registerednotched tumblers, thereby permitting the bolt-work to be operated.

The invention consists, essentially, in the combination of the variousdetails of construction to be hereinafter more fully described.

Figure 1 shows a portion'of the rear side of a safe-door with the plateconcealing the operative parts of the lock removed; Fig. 2, a section ofFig. l taken on the dotted line as x; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5, details ofthe tumblers alone, to be referred to.

The lock herein to be described is shownin this instance as applied toan ordinary safedoor, A, having suitable bolts, A A, and a revolvingplate, A fixed upon a knob-spindle,

A, by means of which the bolts are operated, all in usual manner.

The lock consists of a shaft or stud, a, fixed in the frame-work a, saidshaft having mounted upon it a toothed gear, a'-, while a pinion, a fastupon a shaft, a", meshes with the toothed gear (E, the said shaft abeing rotated by a crank, a located upon the outside of the door A.Anotched tumbler, 1), herein termed a deadtumbler, (see Figs. 2 and 5,)is mounted upon the shaft a and secured to the toothed gear a to therebyrotate in unison therewith, the notch b of the said tumbler having aninclined and perpendicular wall. The dead-tumbler b is also providedwith a series of combination-holes, 1)", (herein shown as sixteen innumber,) arranged at equal dis; tances apart around the shaft a, and afixed pin, b, also protrudes from the side of the said dead-tumbler b,coinciding with the notch at I). A sleeve, a, is splined to the shaft aby a screw-spline, a the end of the sleeve abutting against the side orface of the dead-tumbler b. A disk, 0, having a projection, 0, upon itsperiphery, is mounted loosely upon the sleeve a, contiguous to thedead-tumbler b, said disk having afixed pin, 0 adjacent to theprojection 0, which enters one or another of the combination-holes I),to thereby turn in unison with the dead-tumbler. The disk 0 is of athickness coinciding with the height of the fixed pin 1). Alive-tumbler, d, is mounted loosely upon the sleeve a, contiguous to thedisk 0, said tumbler having a notch, d, a fixed pin, d, coincidingtherewith, and a series of combination-holes, d, all similar to thatshown upon the dead-tumbler b, above described, with the exception thatthe combination-holes are numbered in reverse order, as shown .in Fig.4, and the fixed pin (1'' protrudes from both sides or faces to enterthe spaces between the projection c and fixed pin 1), so that as thedead-tumbler is rotated the said projection c or pin b will engage thepin d, and thereby move the tumbler d. A disk, 0, having a projection,e, and a fixed pin, e, all similar to the disk 0, is also mounted uponthe sleeve a", contiguous to the live-tumbler d, the fixed pin enteringone or another of the combinationholes d of the tumbler d. Alive-tumbler, f, (see Figs. 2 and 3,)havinganotch, f, a series ofcombination-holes, f", and a fixed pin, f extending through the tumblerand protruding from each side thereof, all similar to the tumbler d,with thefiexceptiou that the combination-holes are numbered in reverseorder, is mounted loosely upon the shaft (i contiguous to the disk 6. A'disk, 9, having a projection, g, and fixed pin, 9, is mounted looselyupon the sleeve a, contiguous to the tumbler f, the fixed pin 9 enteringone or another of the combination-holes f", and,

lastly, a tumbler, h, (see Fig. 1,) having a notch, h, and fixed pin h,projecting from its rear side only, is mounted upon the Sleeve a.

it will thus be seen that by rotating the deadtumbler continuously inone direction-as, for

instance, in the direction of the arrow, (see Fig. )-the pin b willstrike the pin d of the tumbler d, rotating the said tumbler (l and itsdisk 0 in unison with the dead-tumbler, and the projection 12 of thedisk e will strike the pin f, rotating the tumbler f and its disk g inunison with the first two tumblers, and the pin f will strike the pin h,thereby rotating all the tumblers in one direction, and by rotating thedead-tumbler b in the opposite direction the reverse of the operationjust described will be true.

A pin, 1', projecting from the rear side of the toothed gear,co-operates with a pin or pro jection, i, fixed to the frame-work andlocated in the path of movement of the pin i,to thus produce suitablefriction to be felt by the operator rotating the shaft a by the crank aand thereby give him notice to commence to operate the combination, thepoint at which the friction device operates being termed thestarting-point. V

The toothed gear a containsasufiicient number of teeth that thedead-tumbler will be moved a distance from one hole, W, to the nextduring one rotation of the crank a and the starting-point is arranged togive notice to the operator when the notch I) of the tumbler b arrivesin correct position, so that the operator may then commence to count therotations of the crank a to thereby rotate the toothed gear a anddead-tumbler fixed thereto, first in one and then in the oppositedirection a determined number of rotations, the number depending nponthe combination set up in the lock, which latter is determined by theparticular holes in which the fixed pins of the several disks areplaced. For instance, the combination being such as shown in Figs. 3,

4-, and 5, the combination-holes 4, 3, and 2 are employed by thedifferent tumblers, two of which rotate to the left and one to theright. The crank a is then rotated until the startingpoint is reached,when the operator commences to count the rotations, and with thecombination asset up he first rotates the said shaft to the right sixrevolutions, which is the sum of all the tumblers rotating .to the left.He then rotates the said shaft to the left back to the starting-point,which will be six revolutions, and on.for three revolutions, whichlatter is the sum of all the tumblers rotating to the right, thus makingnine revolutions to the left. He then rotates the shaft to the rightback again to the starting-point, which will be three revolutions, andon for two revolutions, which latter is the sum of all the tumblersrotating to the left,less those previously reckoned. He then rotates theshaft to thelett to the starting-point, which will be two revolutions,when it will be found that the several notches in the tumblers willregister, the combination thus carried out being six thousand ninehundred and fifty-two after the startingpoint has been first reached.

It will be seen-that the combination may be easily changed by placingthe fixed pins of the several disks in the different holes in thetumblers, and the .combination may be multiplied by adding more tumblersand disks upon the sleeve a. When the notches are brought to registerwith each other, the engaging end m of the two-armed lever m m, pivotedat m, will drop into the notches, the shoulder m thereby releasing theplate A of the bolt-work.

By employing a crank, as herein described, the operator can easily countthe number of revolutions in the dark, and by the friction device duenotice is given when to commence counting.

The lock herein described may be applied to any ordinary door forhousehold purposes, 810., the two-armed lever being modified somewhat towithdraw the usual bolt; and, if desired, for such purpose, a suitableknob turning a cam may be employed to move the twoarmed lever from theinside of the door.

If desired, the sleeve a may be omitted and the live-tumblers and disksmounted directly upon the shaft or stud a.

I claim 1. In a combination-lock, the fixed shaft or stud anddead-tumbler mounted thereon and toothed gear fixed to saiddead-tumbler, and pinion and crank for rotating it, combined with aseries of disks having pins and a projection, as described, and a seriesof notched live-tumblers mounted upon the said shaft,

and arranged alternately with relation to each other, the notches of thelive-tumblers having inclined and perpendicular walls, all substantiallyas described.

2. I11 a combination-lock, the fixed shaft or stud and dead-tumblerthereon having one or more holes, b", a disk mounted loosely upon theshaft, and a fixed pin, 0, to enter the holes I), combined with atoothed gear fixed to said dead-tumbler, and a .pinion meshing with thetoothed gear and a crank to rotate the pinion, all substantially asdescribed.

3. In a combination-lock, the fixed shaft or stud and notcheddead-tumbler thereon having one or more holes, b and fixed pin, b and adisk, 0, having a fixed pin, 0', and a projection, 0, combined with thenotched live-turnbler 11, mounted loosely upon the shaft and having thefixed pin d", to follow between the projection c and the fixed pin b allsubstantially as described.

4. In a combinatioirlock, the fixed shaft or stud and notcheddead-tumbler thereon having one or more holes, b and fixed pin 1), and adisk, 0, having the fixed pin a", and the projeetion 0, combined withthe notched livetumbler d, mounted loosely upon the shaft having thefixed pin LP, and one or more holes, d numbered in reverse order to theholes in the preceding tumbler in which the fixed pin of the succeedingdisk enters, all as set forth.

5. In a combination-lock, the shaft or stud and notched dead-tumblerthereon having one or more holes, I), one or more live-tumblers mountedloosely upon the said shaft, each livetumbler having one or more holesto correspond with the holes b but numbered in reverse order to eachother, combined with disks having a projection and fixed pins, asdescribed, located between the said tumblers for interlocking them witheach other, and yet permitting them to be moved independently of eachother sufficiently that the notched portions of the tumblers mayregister as the deadtumbler is rotated in opposite directions,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HEBER o. GRIFFIN.

